When the UFC suspended Matt Mitrione’s (pictured) contract after the heavyweight made insensitive comments about transgender fighter Fallon Fox, many fans wondered what exactly the punishment entailed considering athletes only get paid after they fight and Mitrione had just beaten Philip De Fries two days prior.
UFC president Dana White shed some light on Mitrione’s penalty Thursday.
“I’m not mad at Mitrione,” White expressed. “He did something stupid. He knows he did something stupid. He knows the way he said it, he didn’t handle it the right way. He knows he did, so I can respect that.
“From the first day we talked, he handled the whole thing like a man. He said some ignorant comments that made him sound like a complete ******* and a bigot. He knew what he said was wrong.”
In addition to referring to the 37-year-old Fallon as a “he” throughout his interview on “The MMA Hour,” Mitrione called the male-turned-female a “sick, sociopathic, disgusting freak” – among many other things.
The UFC quickly distanced themselves from Mitrione’s remarks by suspending his contract. However, what does that really matter since he isn’t expected to fight again for at least another three months?
“We’ll let him know when we decide [he can return],” White vaguely stated. “He was fined, too – enough to make him call me three times. I bet he’ll think [next time]. I bet before words go from here to here (pointing to his brain then to his mouth) he’s going to go, ‘I better not say that. That’s not good. That’s going to cost me some money.’
White didn’t divulge how much Mitrione was docked for bringing negative press to the UFC during a time when they have never been a larger presence in the mainstream. Although, White suggested the financial hit was enough for Mitrione to make several pleas to decrease his penalty.
“He’s like, ‘Come on, dude. Seriously, this much?’” White shared. “Then he was calling [UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta]. Yeah, he was making a lot of phone calls [Wednesday].”

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